Personal: 51, wife, Doris, of eight years. Two grown sons and three stepchildren. Lives in Kingston. Degree from Empire State College.

Sometimes you must feel you're shouting into an empty room when it comes to the responsiveness of politicians. Is that frustrating?

By the nature of the work we're doing, there's always a certain David vs. Goliath nature here. Our constituency is primarily local parents, students, members of communities. We're not the people who are going to the receptions over at the Crowne Plaza, throwing checks into the baskets, the people who have ready access to the governor or the top inner sanctum of decision making in Albany. That can get frustrating at times. You're pushing for what people believe is right. You're not sure if it's being ignored. This year, we feel optimistic. The public support for our position is overwhelming.

What's the most surprising thing about Albany you've learned in your time here? This town never ceases to surprise.

For a long time, Albany seemed predictable. In that you had the Assembly clearly controlled by the Democrats, the Senate clearly controlled by the Republicans with the governor being the factor that would change. In the last couple of years, there have been a lot of surprises, that in itself is surprising. It's uncharted territory now in terms of the state Senate. Gov. Andrew Cuomo on one hand is defining himself as a progressive reformer, and on his budget the most enthusiastic support is from Republicans, the tea party.

What historical figure has inspired you?

Harriet Tubman is a person who shares courage and daring of the type that is in the best of American tradition. She was a person prepared to put herself clearly on the line for what is right, all the forces of money and politics were arrayed against her.

On a Saturday morning, when you get the politics out of your blood for a second, what do you do?

My wife and I love to play Scrabble. This is a high-demand job; what I like to do is shut down and spend time with my wife and grandkids and get a break. I'm fortunate that my wife is very tolerant of all the demands my life places on our relationship. We're amateur history buffs. We like historical sites, we end up at Martin Van Buren's house or the Roosevelts' house. We're always looking for that hidden local treasure. We also like bird-watching. We also like canoeing.

How are you balancing your message, your advocacy with those people who are looking at their rising property taxes and worrying about paying them?

The governor has been speaking about the tax cap. Most people prefer a circuit breaker. I think we've always been a leading advocate for the state to pay a larger share of the cost of education. If the state doesn't do that, the burden gets passed to local taxpayers. The governor's budget is passing cuts down to local taxpayers, whether it's the cuts he's passing down to schools, or state funding to schools for students who are blind or deaf. Voters, and property taxpayers get that we need to have good schools and that if the state is not going to pay the bill, they're just passing it to local taxpayers.

Schools are going to have to do more tightening this year. Where could the average school district tighten its belt a little bit?

We've advocated back-office consolidating of school districts, and bulk purchases. School districts could buy buses together. The state has really failed to promote energy conservation in our schools. They could save so much money. These are sensible cost savings. It would be helpful if we could have an honest public dialogue about those cuts hurting our school kids.